Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly
Anthony Bourdain
ISBN: 978-060899226
I have watched a few episodes of Anthony Bourdain's television show "No Reservations," and find him to be a sarcastic but amusing chef that clearly has a love for food. In his book "Kitchen Confidential" he discusses things from his first food awakening through the many restaurants he has worked in, the types of cuisine he has prepared, and the experiences he has had throughout his career.
Bourdain begins the book by discussing his first awakening that food is more than just something you eat. He describes a trans-Atlantic cruise on which he tries new food, as well as his desire to try anything no matter how unappealing or far-fetched it was. He talks about the first oyster he ever had and how the simplicity of that made him want to be a chef. Many of the accounts are vividly described and you can feel his passion for not only good food, but his job through the pages of the book.
Throughout the book he talks about the many different people he has worked for and worked with. He freely admits that he was not the best of employees at times and that he has taken advantage of some of the people who have employees him. He has done things such as bribing, coercing the staff of his competition to come work with him, and then being forced to let those people go. He mentioned toward the end of the book that while he did not do the best job, he did the best he could at the time.
He describes the life of chef, as well as the rest of the kitchen crew, as the life of pirates. I get the feeling that it is more like a rock star. Heavy drinking, crude humor, foul language, drugs, sex, and a no-holds-barred party life, and it takes a special kind of person to do that. I don't think all kitchens are run as Bourdain runs his, and not all chefs are like him.
While not for everyone, tHere are many experiences and anecdotes in this book that I found appealing and I will be looking for his other books to read.
